Cop Killer was pardoned from a life sentence by Mike Huckabee 9 years ago

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Re: Cop Killer was pardoned from a life sentence by Mike Huckabee 9 years ago

Maybe Huckabee is more genuine about his christian beliefs than many republicans.

What are you suggesting put everyone who commits a crime in jail for life? If anything it was as a result of going through a heartless prison system that made him this way.

The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.

Re: Cop Killer was pardoned from a life sentence by Mike Huckabee 9 years ago

Originally Posted by Gibberish

Like anyone that wants to believe something is true, the "faithful" can be so easily manipulated at times.

One thing that bothers me about Huckabee is that he ties is religious beliefs to his political position far to often.

I agree. Huckabees worst crime was to promise that he was going to change the Constitution for Jesus. The Bible is good and fine, but the Constitution is the Bible for the American way of life. Take THAT away, and what do we have? A theocracy, just like Iran has. I am ashamed that I had actually considered voting for him at one time.

Maurice Clemmons, the 37-year-old man wanted for questioning in the killing of four Lakewood police officers Sunday morning, has a long criminal record punctuated by violence, erratic behavior and concerns about his mental health.

His criminal history includes at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington. That record also stands out for the number of times Clemmons has been released from custody despite questions about the danger he posed.

Mike Huckabee, while governor of Arkansas, granted clemency to Clemmons nine years ago, commuting his lengthy prison sentence over the protests of prosecutors.

"This is the day I've been dreading for a long time," Larry Jegley, prosecuting attorney for Arkansas' Pulaski County, said Sunday night when informed that Clemmons was being sought in connection with the killings.

In Pierce County, Clemmons had been in jail for the past several months on a child-rape charge that carries a possible life sentence. He was released from custody one week ago, even though he was staring at eight felony charges in all.

Clemmons posted $15,000 with a Chehalis company called Jail Sucks Bail Bonds. The bondsman, in turn, put up $150,000, securing Clemmons' release on the child-rape charge.

Clemmons moved to Washington from Arkansas in 2004. He was placed under the supervision of the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) for an Arkansas conviction, according to a department spokesman. The DOC classified him as "high risk to reoffend." His supervision was to continue until October 2015, the spokesman said.

He lives in Tacoma, where he has run a landscaping and power-washing business out of his house. He is married, but the relationship has been tumultuous, with accounts of his unpredictable behavior leading to at least two run-ins with police this year.

Clemmons punched a Pierce County sheriff's deputy in the face during one confrontation, according to court records.

Two days later, at his home, Clemmons allegedly gathered his wife and two younger relatives at around 3 or 4 a.m. and had them all undress. He told them that families need to "be naked for at least five minutes on Sunday," a Pierce County sheriff's report says.

The family complied because they were afraid of Clemmons and thought he was growing increasingly erratic.

"The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus," the report says.

The Sheriff's Office interviewed Clemmons' sister in May. She said her brother "is not in his right mind and did not know how he could react when contacted by law enforcement," a sheriff's report says.

"She stated that he was saying that the Secret Service was coming to get him because he had written a letter to the president. ... She suspects he is having a mental breakdown," the report says.

Family members also told deputies that Clemmons claimed he could fly and expected President Obama to visit to "confirm that he is Messiah in the flesh."

While investigating this incident, deputies uncovered evidence that led to a charge that he had raped and molested a 12-year-old relative.

Prosecutors in Pierce County recently had requested a mental evaluation for Clemmons at Western State Hospital. On Nov. 6, a psychologist concluded that Clemmons was competent to stand trial on the child-rape and other felony charges, according to court records.

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"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without."